My Way
by DeLaBeck
Summary: A story about the twists and turns that your life may take you on, when you let it.
1. A Step Forward

A Step Forward

The wind blew heavily through the streets, which were packed fully with cars. This wasn't like the rush of the traffic in Boston or New York, this was the overly crowded streets of Tokyo. Tokyo, Japan, where he finally made it to. It wasn't the time to question what he was doing here, but rather a time to take a step forward into his developing life. Dan had all that he needed with him. His trusty guitar slung across his back and his pack of cigarettes in the jacket pocket. His leather jacket did little to protect him from the elements though, as the December weather in Tokyo wasn't as good as he had hoped for. He could only dream of snow, but instead, it was a cold rain that dropped steadily on his uncovered head as he stumbled through these streets looking for some kind of shelter. The rain pounded heavily into his hair and he trudged through it and through the mass crowd that walked around him. This was Japan, the land of the Rising Sun.

"God dammit, where is that asshole?" Dan inquired, asking the question of himself rather than anyone that was around him. "Dammit... Matt knows I don't have a working cell phone here and yet he still pulls this shit on me."

Matt Meizer was supposed to meet Dan at the airport, but after waiting for two hours, Dan was fed up with the situation and took off on his own, trying to find his way through the strange sea of Japanese that flowed so precariously through the building. Narita Airport wasn't the most confusing place to get through, it was the fact that there was a specific train to catch and a specific currency to exchange. Not to mention the lack of a Japanese cell phone, which would be required to communicate with anyone on the island. He thought his luck was fully run out until he met a couple of English tourists who had also come to Japan for a visit, but seemed to know a lot more about the country than him. They showed him where to go for exchanging currency and explained carefully, which trains to take to the appropriate destination, which was Kameido for him. The number of trains he'd have to take intimidated him a bit, but the newly acquired acquaintances of his helped him figure it all out. It also helped a bit that some of the names of train stations were written in English alongside with the Japanese. So after about 2 hours of train traveling, he was here, in the middle of Tokyo, walking in a direction he wasn't all to sure of, to a destination he didn't quite know how to find.

The rain had darkened the skies significantly and the bright neon of all the signs really stood out to Dan as he walked through the street, trying to avoid getting hit by cars. Each building was tall and very bright and colorful and the atmosphere was very loud and lively in general. He was impressed. Every street corner had a vending machine with some familiar beverages, such as Coca Cola, and of course some very bizarre ones, like BOSS coffee. He fished in his pocket for a couple of coins to try out a new drink. A 500¥ coin popped out, which he promptly pushed into the vending machine's coin slot. Out came his BOSS drink and 350¥ in change that he readily threw back into his pocket. Dan looked a bit further ahead and saw a familiar site, the 7/11 convenience store, which he started slowly jogging to, since it actually had somewhat of an awning to shield him from the rain. As he got closer he saw the bright lights on the inside, but decided to stay out in the rain a little longer, and smoke his favorite cigarette. Standing under the cover, he stood his guitar against the wall and popped open the can of coffee in his hands. It was black with no sugar and not to mention, cold. Yet after a long fourteen hour flight, he needed something to keep him awake and not passing out in the street.

Lighting up his cigarette he slowly glanced around the area and observed the moving commotion around him. He generally noticed that the Japanese public didn't pay much attention to him and walked with their own purpose in mind. Occasionally a child would look at him and then say something to his or her parent, who would in turn shush them and motion them to move along quietly. He supposed that his appearance didn't look all too friendly to the natives. Glancing over his shoulder into the store behind him, he noticed that there were a lot of umbrellas on sale inside and he decided that if he were to move on, one would be necessary. To his left he saw a cigarette disposal receptacle and putting the cigarette out on his boot, he tossed it into the can. Picking up his guitar, he proceeded to walk through the automatic door into the store, where he was greeted by Japanese, which he couldn't understand, but only made out as some sort of a welcome, "Irashaimase!". He smiled and nodded in return clearly showing that he had no idea what the attendants of the store had said.

The store didn't look too different from his overall knowledge of 7/11s in the US. There were a number of isles with different products and coolers on the sides with a magazine rack that stood right next to the window, which he had been leaning against from the outside. As he approached the rack, he saw a number of Japanese magazines and other paraphernalia, some of which he could tell were clearly pornographic, but exposed nonetheless. Walking through the rest of the store, he noticed a number of Japanese snacks, drinks, and other varieties of convenience store goods along with an ATM machine in the corner. Picking up an "Onigiri" snack from one of the fridge units, he approached the register. Dan noticed an umbrella rack on the floor next to the check out counter and decided that he may as well buy one, since it was still pouring outside. The conversation at the counter was completely foreign to him, but in the end, the total of 500¥ showed up on the register's computer and he silently fished into his pockets, looking for the required coinage. After paying for his supplies, he quietly walked out of the store and looked in a random direction to keep walking in, since he was still not completely aware of where he needed to be.

The sky seemed to be getting even darker now as Dan glanced down at his watch, which was still set to his US time of three thirty in the morning, while here in Japan, it was actually getting to be five thirty in the evening. He was becoming incredibly tired as he hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep on the plane. The thought of his friend Matt not showing up, really pissed Dan off even more as he continued to trudge through the bustling street. The shops on the sides seemed very familiar to him, but the writings on the walls were strange and unfamiliar to him. The "Onigiri" snack he had purchased earlier, wasn't nearly enough to satiate his hunger, which still persisted ever since he got off the plane, some three hours earlier. With not much money in his pocket, there was little he could do currently except hope for some kind of miracle, though he knew that this wasn't a fairy tale, and something like that was highly unlikely to happen. As he continued walking, a funny thought came to him; it was more of an idea. He thought back to how some people made money if they had no jobs, but a talent to offer; he remembered that he still had his guitar with him, which could theoretically help him out in this situation.

Whether or not it was delirium, he wasn't going to try to figure out. He found another awning for some not-so-fancy restaurant and sat down on the little window ledge, taking out his guitar, a Gibson Les Paul. An authentic one, not some two-bit fake. He strummed a couple of notes to himself, which made very little coherent sound to anyone passing by. Then, leaving his guitar case open on the ground in front of him, he started slowly playing a tune, which had a certain sad feel to it, as it reflected his current emotions for his current situation. The music flowed through him and the surrounding area could really feel the kind of feelings that Dan presently held. No words needed to be sung as he continued to strum his guitar in a beautiful melodic composition. It was surprising how good an electric guitar could sound without actually being hooked up to an amp of any sort and in this damper rainy environment.

Dan knew he had a talent. Dan had been playing this instrument since his teenage years and had become a perfectionist in the art. This was how he got to know Matt as well, since the two of them had originally formed a band, known as "Black Iris", a name insisted on, by Matt, who was the original founder of their group. This was what his high school years had amounted to. He didn't have good grades, he didn't have a great social life, but he did have his guitar and his band, which perfected their own kind of sound. They started out on covers, like most bands usually did, but eventually, Dan started writing his own music, while Matt came up with amazing lyrics to accompany it. Matt was the lead vocalist and as such, he upheld the principles of his position. However, as with everything, good things had to come to an end eventually and suddenly that thing called the future caught up with everyone. Everyone except Dan that is. While all the band members had their own individual plans, which did not revolve around the creation of music, Dan still held on to his new dream of being in a top band, creating beautiful music to share with people everywhere. Some went to college, others went abroad, but Dan stayed put, perfecting his art. During their four years in the band together, Matt and Dan forged a friendship that would last for a long time, but was definitely being tested on this particular evening. Matt's aspirations were to travel abroad and discover new places, but how he ended up in Japan, was surprising even to him. With Dan's decision of not going to college and continuing his dream of playing music, his father all but disowned him and he had to get out of the States. The opportunity to see a new country and reunite with his old high school friend, presented itself as the ideal solution to his problem.

At this present moment though, he sat on this window sill, under an awning, and kept strumming his guitar, not really hoping for anything in particular, just to further practice his craft. Music had a way of soothing everyone's emotions, making them forget about the harder aspects of their life, of their past, of their future. Dan utilized this to its full extent. The one song that constantly brought him back to his peace of mind was a famous John Lennon song from many years before, called Imagine. He remembered back to the first time he actually heard the song, which was a bit humorous in itself, as it had been while he was watching a rerun of an old 90s serial, Quantum Leap. The song moved him and it became his anthem so to say. And thus, his guitar suddenly started humming the melody of Imagine while he carried the essence of John Lennon through his voice. The general public was slowly passing him by and it all started looking like a blur, but with the song playing from his fingertips, the troubles of the world just melted away from him, so much so, that he didn't notice the fact that a small crowd was starting to gather around him as he continued to play the song. They were generally younger looking people, teenagers mostly, but they seemed to enjoy what he was playing for them. It wasn't a large crowd, but it was enough of a crowd to cause a disturbance for the owner of the small restaurant that Dan was playing in front of.

As Dan's solo came to an end, he looked up from his guitar to find the new audience that he had gathered. It was a bit embarrassing for him, since these were not people who he was at all familiar with, but he realized that there was nothing shameful about playing beautiful music in front of all kinds of people. The small audience burst in a small amount of applause in front of him, while he shook his head, trying to say that it wasn't necessary. There were slight murmurs in the unknown language, around Dan, but he assumed they enjoyed what they had heard, so he was about to start performing his next number.

As he began to slowly strum the guitar once more, there came a noise from the door to the restaurant whose window sill he had been occupying. Out came a short, stubby, and disgruntled looking middle-aged man, saying something intangible to Dan, in his language. Dan didn't need to understand Japanese to understand that the man wasn't pleased with his street performance and most likely wanted him to get out of there. The crowd that had gathered around Dan, was slowly starting to dissipate, but he noticed that a couple of them tossed some 50, 100, and even a few 500¥ coins into this guitar case. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give Dan a bit of a smile on his face. He quickly picked up his coins, threw them into his pockets and packed up his guitar. Then, awkwardly speaking to the store owner, he apologized, thinking the man probably didn't understand a word coming out of his mouth anyway.

At the sight of the hurried young man, the store owner chuckled a bit and said in a broken English, "No probrem, but no pray here."

Dan was a bit confused at the pronunciations, but got the gist of what the man was saying and fishing into his pockets, he gave the store owner a 500¥ coin to pay for his unscheduled performance. The old man was a bit surprised by this action and motioned for Dan to wait a bit as he went back inside the store. He came out a few minutes later with a few more onigiri in his hands and gave them to Dan. He felt a bit awkward about accepting these pieces of food, but couldn't decline it, as he was still hungry. He thanked the man, bowed to him, and hurriedly went off on his way. Bowing seemed so cliché, but he thought that maybe it was the proper way to do things in this country.

'Where the hell is that bastard?' thought Dan to himself as he continued to trudge down the street in the rain. He looked around some more and his eyes happened to land upon a billboard that was looming over him. He didn't know how much that billboard would effect his immediate future, but the advertisement for the band Red Sky seemed a bit daunting to him at that glance.


	2. Two Steps Back

Since footnotes don't seem to carry over from the original document, I just wanted to make a couple of notes for this chapter and onwards:

1.) From this point forth in the story, all responses that are in Japanese will be quoted with (parenthesis) instead of "quotation marks". Conversely, American responses will still remain in the normal "quote" style.

2.) Yakuza is the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia, for those who aren't aware.

* * *

Two Steps Back

Sitting in the little sushi bar just about four blocks away from his apartment, Matt was slowly drinking down his Sapporo, which seemed to taste a bit warm to him at this moment. It only made sense at this juncture, since he'd been sitting at this restaurant for about two hours now and milking this tall glass of beer the whole time. Some repeat of a baseball game from the previous year seemed to be playing on the television monitors all around the bar and he felt a bit restless for a while now, as if he was forgetting something. A waitress came up to him and asked if he and his friend would like anything else this evening, but Matt was still spacing out as Noriko chimed in with a stern, "Matt!"

He awoke from his daze only to find himself staring at two inquisitive women. One asking if there was anything else he'd wanted and the other seeming a bit distraught over the fact that he wasn't paying attention. He quickly retorted in his newly acquired Japanese, "We're done here, thank you. Can we please get our check?"

(Certainly.)(1) Replied the waitress as she quickly took out her notepad and scribbled some things on it, placing it in front of the awaiting customer. Matt quickly glanced at the check and placed down some cash on the table almost forgetting that he didn't need to leave a tip in these places because the Japanese looked down upon that. After a short while, the waitress came back with his change and bade them a polite goodbye as Matt and Noriko left the little establishment, which seemed louder than most establishments of that size in America.

Matt was a pretty tall man, with spiky blond hair and a handsome face that the Japanese women melted for. And even though he looked like a "punk", his outfit definitely didn't match that image. In fact, his clothes usually looked like those a yakuza(2) member would wear. The suits weren't terrifically fancy, but he made them work with an unbuttoned top button, no tie, and a jacket to match.

As they walked down the street, Matt lit up a quick cigarette and continued walking, but something kept bothering him and Noriko definitely noticed it.

(What's wrong Matt? You seem to be less your usual self.) she asked him dutifully.

(I'm not sure, Nori... it just feels like I'm forgetting something. Something really important that's supposed to happen.) he replied, in somewhat unmannered Japanese, to his girlfriend, using her nickname. (Only thing I could think of would be Dan's arrival, but that's not supposed to be till tomorrow, right?) he inquired, not really expecting an answer from her.

(Well when did he say he was leaving?) she inquired.

(Dammit! He must be coming tonight! Shit, we have to go pick him up from the airport!) Matt furiously started through his cell phone to try and find some text message or e-mail or something that would tell him what time Dan had promised to arrive at. He looked through all of his archives, carefully inspecting the subject lines and topics of every e-mail and text message that was on his phone, when he finally came upon the proper message. From the e-mail, he figured out that Dan would have landed in Narita at approximately 3PM their time on December 22nd. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 9PM and felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

(He could be anywhere...) Matt gestured. (Let's walk over to the Kameido train station... maybe he found a way to get there without me...) He sounded somewhat defeated and disappointed in his grievous error. (He's always been good at finding his way out of a mess... let's see if he'll make me pay for this!) He joked to himself.

(Of course, Matt.. Let's go find him.) Noriko trailed off as they started, rather hurriedly, down the street.

The Kameido train station was actually not very far from where they were now. It was a brisk ten minute walk that would take them to the station and they were hoping to miraculously bump into Matt's friend from the past.

Even at nine o'clock, on a work day, the streets still seemed to be bustling with energy and people. Their hopes of finding Dan were like those of finding a needle in a haystack, but Matt was determined that they wouldn't fail in this venture. As they kept on walking, they stared in multiple directions trying to discern one face from another, but it looked bleak. Matt looked a couple of blocks down and saw the residential 7/11 mart, which was always open. In his anxiety, Matt fished out a cigarette and lit it up. Then, he heard it. A familiar song. Nothing just anyone would recognize. It wasn't one of those main stream songs. It wasn't Japanese. It was only Matt's. He had written so many years before. The only one who could possibly know that song, had to be him. Matt spun ninety degrees to his left to see a large billboard with the band Red Sky clearly advertised upon it. But that's not what caught his attention. It was the man sitting under the billboard, with a guitar in hand and his case on the ground, accepting change. He sat there and slowly strummed the guitar for all the passerby.

Noriko hadn't noticed that Matt had stopped and was ready to continue onwards, when she also stopped, not finding his presence near her. She tracked her way back a bit and saw that he was preoccupied looking at another foreigner sitting on the sidewalk with guitar in hand. Leather jacket, ripped up pants, chains connecting pockets, and a cigarette in his mouth gave her all the clues she needed to figure out what Matt had stopped for. (That's him, right?) She questioned quickly, but heard no response.

Matt regained a bit of his composure and started crossing the street towards the performer. "Dan... I'm sorry..." were the only words that he could utter as he approached the musician.

Dan stopped the strings on his guitar from emitting another sound and looked up towards the approaching man. He then gestured upwards with his thumb, to the billboard above him. "Who are these Red Sky?" he asked, as the billboard had really piqued his interest.

"They're a band..." replied Matt somewhat hesitantly, "How long have you been waiting?"

"I want to hear their sound." Dan replied, completely ignoring Matt's question.

"Look, I'm sorry man! I totally forgot that it was today and that's no excuse, I know, but..."

"It doesn't matter... let me hear them." Dan cut him off.

"What is it about them that's suddenly got you so interested?" Matt inquired, as he was a bit perplexed as to why Dan had chosen this particular band out of all the bands he could have potentially discovered. "Their vocalist is not Japanese... Figured I could relate." Dan replied, though Matt thought the answer was a bit half-ass.

"Oh.. um.. I don't have any of their CDs, but my girlfriend might..." He motioned towards Noriko, who was standing a few steps behind him, quietly observing the situation. "They're kind of a pop band, so I haven't really been following them closely, though as you say, their vocalist is indeed foreign, or to be more precise, American."

Dan got up at those words and walked past Matt, towards Noriko, who was a bit apprehensive about his approach. "How's it going? My name is Dan, and your boyfriend is a total jackass, pardon my French."

She was a bit taken aback at his words, but quickly replied in a slightly broken English, "Hello, my name is Noriko."

"Anyway.. let's go get a drink. I hear it's on the jackass..." Dan jokingly motioned towards Matt as all three of them walked off from the corner.

* * *

The dance floor was still loudly shaking underneath the manager's office in Club G-Prix, located in a hot nightspot in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. The two men stood looking onwards into the crowd. The taller man, with long black hair, a debonair face -- tall and handsome with a silk shirt and styled black pants, was Seiji Nakamura, the lead guitarist of the newly burgeoning band, Red Sky. He had a very serious personality and showed that to his fans, at all times, as his image.

The band's music was very much a pop sound and helped take them to the accolades they had received, but Seiji was never satisfied with the status quo. Now standing with his band's manager, Ikeda Takeharo, they were discussing the future and the risks that Seiji felt the band would need to take in order to survive the dog eat dog world of musical entertainment. Seiji was smart with planning. He had been the leader of the band from the start and knew how to use everyone to their fullest potential, in order to achieve greatest success. So he knew that, even if this was something that he didn't fully believe in, he could at least use it to propel the band even further forward. The one major opponent to his way of running the band, was their bassist, Ken Matsumoto. Ken was about the pure music; he was about playing what feels right. Completely not a business man, with no sense of the greater picture. At least that was what Seiji felt. They may have been considered friends at one time, but business was not about friendship. So while Ken was fine with what the band was doing and not willing to change the image to fit that of a greatly maturing audience, he was becoming of no use to Seiji, who had more of "punk" leaning. There was risk of course. But where there's risk, there's typically reward as well. That was what Seiji was battling with.

The other two members of the band fully relied on Seiji's decisions and wouldn't really question him on business matters, but he knew that ultimately, they'd need to agree to the new change he would be bringing. He wasn't too worried about Keisuke, but Christina could be a tough one to convince. Though unlike Ken, she was irreplaceable for the plan that Seiji had in mind.

Ikeda looked at him curiously, (So, that's it then? That's what you think would work best for the company... and the band?)

(As I've said, I think we need to take this risk. We'd abandon a certain audience, I'm sure, but I think we could convert some to our new type of music and maybe gain a further audience that could take us further and out of Japan.) Seiji answered.

(This is punk we're talking about though... What exactly do you plan to do about Ken? I don't even know if the guy wants to try something like that.) Ikeda questioned.

(I've been thinking about this for a while now and no matter which way I look at it, I can't see Ken in the picture. We need to find the image of our band and that'll come from Christina's vocals and a new bassist. I want to find someone and that means that Ken will have to be out of the frame.) he responded.

(That's a cutthroat attitude no doubt, but this could be tough for us to just fire him... We need to make this look like a mutual parting, if you really want to go through with this.)

(Why don't you let me think of that, manager. Meanwhile, how do you think we can go about finding a good new bassist?)

(Hmm... well, Saikou Records is running a battle of the bands competition around a few Tokyo landmark spots, so there's a possibility that we could find someone at one of those.)

(That's not a bad idea.) Seiji thought to himself, (I'll personally come along to check some of these out. I hope you don't mind helping me out.)

(I don't know if that's such a good idea... You _are _still a popular band and people will recognize you.)

(Don't worry, manager, I'll make sure to go incognito.) Seiji chuckled.

(Don't treat this matter lightly... and remember, this better work out for the company first and foremost. The band is second.) Ikeda threatened.

(Of course, manager.)

"I won't allow you to pick just anyone, Sei..." a female voice trailed in from behind the two men. "If you really want this new sound to work for us, he better be able to keep up with me." she continued.

"Of course, Chris... I wouldn't think of it any other way. How much of our conversation did you overhear?"

"Enough to know that we're short a bassist and that I'm going to be the vocalist of a punk band now."

"So pretty much all of it. How do you feel about it?" Seiji inquired.

"I could care less... As long as we make something beautiful, it's all I care about. So as long as your new plan doesn't compromise our sound, I'm fine with whatever. I'm sure Kei won't care either, he just loves banging on those drums to his heart's content."

Christina slowly emerged into the room. She was definitely not Japanese, as could be clearly seen from her appearance and dress. She wore a pair of jeans and a black halter top. Her blond hair was tied into a pony tail behind her and she had a pair of stylish sunglasses on, inside the bar, even though it was very dark. Some would say that she looked like a typical American, perhaps a model, but she was actually from England, though you couldn't tell, considering she didn't exhibit any sort of a British accent. The one undeniable truth was that she was beautiful and part of the reason that the image of their band succeeded so much.

(Well, if that's how you two feel then I'll talk with some people tomorrow and we can start taking a listen to some of these bands out there. See if we can't pick some new sound for you folks. Christine, can't you speak in Japanese, please? I have enough trouble trying to follow you as it is.)

She smiled cautiously at their manager and flipped him off. Then turned around and walked out of the room.

(I'm sorry about that, manager...) Seiji tried to cover for her. (Sometimes I can't tell what she's thinking. Though she has a point. Well then, I'll be counting on you.) Seiji shook hands with Ikeda and exited the room as well, quickly slipping out of the club, without getting noticed.

With this, certain events were set into motion that would involve some key figures and bring certain new successes to the newly developing band, Red Sky.

* * *

"You know Matt... I've come here for a reason." Dan said, as he stared distantly, past his long time friend, at a muffled television in the back of the bar. "I got out of there because there's too much to hold me back... I can't keep working those menial part time jobs and I don't have the education to work the nine-to-five days either... nor would I want to." He took another drink of his beer and put down the next empty bottle. "I need to play music. More importantly, I need a new start. Somewhere that nobody knows anything about me. Where I can make myself whatever it is that I want to be."

Matt listened closely to what his old band mate was expounding upon. He listened and took note of what Dan was trying to get across. Matt had finished college only two years earlier and went out to Japan to teach English in the schools, but his ultimate goal, what he had studied for in school, was to become an engineer. What better place than Japan to become one though? Always on the cutting edge, always so vibrant, and always so traditional. This place had grown on him, so much so, that he was willing to do anything to just remain there.

"So then, what do you want to do? How do you want to approach it?" Matt finally spoke up.

Dan folded his arms and sat back a bit, leaning his chair backwards. "I was hoping you might have something? You been keeping up with music at all? Playing? Singing? Writing?" Dan inquired, in hopes of some positive feedback.

Matt shook his head, "None really... I met a guy who's a pretty good drummer out here... and we played a bit, a while back, but we haven't done anything really since then."

Dan was a bit disappointed at the response and quickly ordered another bottle of beer, with Matt protesting slightly. "Are you still into it at all? Do you still have a desire to perform?" Dan asked.

"I'd do it again, I guess. But what are we going to do?"

"Um... excuse me guys, but what about this?" Noriko piped in with a piece of paper in her hand that she had ripped off the wall next to them. The paper read, "SAIKOU RECORDS PROUDLY PRESENTS: BATTLE OF THE BANDS - TOKYO", which actually read in bold English letters. It had more text in Japanese about contact information and the general description of when and where, but Dan didn't really need to listen or read anymore of it.

"Call your drummer... we're doing it." Dan quietly said, trying to hide his excitement. "Noriko, you're the best! Wanna dump this guy and come hang out with me?" Dan teased at Matt, who seemed a little taken aback by the speed of the situation.

"Hey, you little shit! You're livin' with me for the near future, so don't be makin' an enemy out of your savior!" Matt retorted with his own humor.


	3. Opposites Attract

Opposites Attract

What is the right path in life?

A question such as this is usually asked rhetorically, but for Daniel LaBeck, this question was the motto he chose to live by. It was, so to say, never to be chained down to any specific path, but to always explore the wide slew of opportunities that's available to him. This approach started early in his life and proceeded through his numerous travails.

Born to a family of two other siblings, his mother and father separated early. He later found out that it was because his father had had an affair and he happened to be the product of the said sin. His brother and sister never looked at him as their real sibling and partially blamed him for the destruction of their family unit. It was a hard blow for a kid of his age to take, especially since he couldn't really be held responsible for his father's infidelity. Due to these events, his mother claimed custody of his brother and sister while he remained with his dad, who never actually got together with his biological mother. The truth was that he never even knew his biological mother and that never really hit him until he became older and started to realize the exact impact of that fact.

His father was not an easy man to live with. He was a blue collar worker and was very serious about everything he did. Besides the fact that he was unfaithful to his wife, Dan never saw the man do anything else unethical, but that could have partially been because he felt he needed to atone for his previous indiscretions.

They lived in a very decently sized house in a very nice neighborhood, which was a bit surprising to Dan, since he was sure that his father couldn't have made _that _good of money. Yet Dan was never spoiled or even treated to the riches that his father seemed to have. He lived a very underprivileged lifestyle, with not many possessions. It was only after his first fateful concert that he became extremely enamored in the prospect of becoming a musician. To some people, becoming an astronaut or a fireman was what they imagined in their early life, but Dan never looked had those aspirations.

He was always interested in music in general, but it was during his first year of high school that he got out to his first concert, which was more of a small time gig at a local nightclub. The performers at this gig were nothing but a cover band, but they were very much a punk style band. It was Dan's first exposure to music of the Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols and a slew of others. He was well aware of the other bands that were popular at the time, but this was his first look at what started that movement initially. This was where it began for him, his love for music and his interest in playing it.

There was no way he could convince his father to buy him any instruments so Dan had to do it by himself, by getting various part time jobs. He worked hard and for about six months, before he eventually could afford one of the cheapest Les Paul guitars he could find, which still cost him a pretty penny. It was a Goldtop Gibson and it became his most treasured possession. His dad was not pleased about this new love in Dan's life and expected the boy to concentrate on his studies only, but this was no longer possible.

Dan began learning the instrument by himself. Never learning notes or the proper way of music, he only practiced based on sound and what he could imitate. At first, it sounded awful, but with time and his great attention to detail, he began to develop into a great guitarist, knowing exactly which chords he needed to hit to produce the sound he was looking for.

He couldn't practice at home because his father wouldn't permit it, so he would usually go out and just sit on street corners or in parks, practicing his craft. And this was how he eventually met Matt Meizer, who just happened to be passing by on one fateful night, with a girl on each arm.

Matt was a "player", as it was generally known in common nomenclature. He was a popular kid in school and was always with one female or another, but he had something more. He was a musician behind the facade as well. Matt performed with a few different bands that were just doing random gigs at small clubs around the town they were in. He was mainly vocalist, but could play some bass as well, so he knew a bit about sound. When he happened upon Dan, in the street, he immediately recognized the possibilities.

The two became quick friends and the idea of forming a band was something that Matt had already had on his mind. So finding a good guitarist was a sure sign for him that it was time to give it a shot. While Matt was socially outgoing and quick to mingle with everyone under the sun, Dan was the complete opposite at first; very timid. It was the perfect pairing of opposites and it didn't take them long to find a few more people willing to join a band. Not for the money or recognition, but for the glory and the girls, above all. They were teens after all and what do teens think about?

This was how they met Keith Landon and Jeff Soho. Both not truly musicians, but played well enough to do the whole high school rock band thing. Keith played the bass, while Jeff was the drummer. They were all now sophomores in the same school and became band mates. This was the initial formation of "Black Iris", a name crafted by Matt of course. While Keith, Jeff, and Matt mainly did this for the "chicks", Dan was the only one that really took it seriously. He was still in the process of perfecting his skills and while the band played mainly covers of different types of music, Dan was writing his own songs. Obviously, he didn't know how to compose, considering he didn't know the theory behind notes, but with the sound he created just using his guitar, he recorded many of his melodies and also tried writing his own lyrics. However, due to his shy personality, he was not able to really share this with the rest of his band mates, for he felt he'd be too embarrassed and they wouldn't take his music seriously.

As time in high school quickly passed them by, his music library was becoming a bit more immense. Both the stuff he listened to and the things he wrote himself. By senior year of school, the four of them really did become a lot closer and by this point, Dan finally shared his music with his mates, even if it was partially against his own will. To his surprise, they were actually very intrigued by his sound and decided that they really should try to play some of it to breakaway from the common mold of their type of bands. They began performing songs at different parties and small club venues and their music seemed to get a small cult following. It was a very punk sound, reminiscent of bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and others. This was only natural, considering Dan had begun to really idolize what that sound and image really stood for. The only thing that seemed a bit unnatural was Matt's vocals to this music. They were too clear-cut, too smooth, while the singing demanded a more menacing, rawer sound.

Dan never felt like becoming the front man or vocalist for the band, but there were points at which Matt insisted that he join into the singing. Dan began writing music that would compliment two vocalists. He tried to write things that Matt could sing in his style, while Dan could bring his own charisma to the second part of the music. This gained them even more of a following and eased away some of Dan's initial timidity.

Naturally, one would expect that this couldn't go on forever. School was still in session, so to say. While the others began really concentrating on making it to one college or another, Dan really didn't feel like doing it and continued playing his music. And so, as the senior year was coming to conclusion, one by one the band mates were starting to separate. First Keith left, citing studies. Then it was Jeff's turn. And eventually Matt decided that the band thing was fun, but had to be over because there was so little of a chance to make it in the industry that an education would be more than required.

The band played their last gig a month before graduation and then it was over. Dan didn't feel betrayed, but he felt as though this was the only thing he could ever be good at. As such, he suddenly felt extremely alone and as could only be expected, he turned to drugs to ease away some of this feeling. It was nothing hard, just some "Mary Jane" once in a while, but it was enough to calm his tension and also helped him stay creative as he continued to write his music.

Due to his involvement with the band during his high school years Dan gained some popularity with the opposite gender as well, and had gone through a couple of girlfriends in that three year period, but they as well weren't staying in this little town forever, they had to move on. Everyone was passing Dan by. A sense of isolation settled over him.

At this point, during his period of "separation" from the rest of his band mates and other friends, his father added to it, by kicking him out of the house. He was now forced to fend for himself and began taking on all sorts of jobs. Dan would take whatever was available to him. He would work nights, days, weekends, doing whatever he could to get by. He got his own apartment, though it was quite the shithole. It was a one bedroom place with a bathroom and no real kitchen. There were cockroaches and other vermin all over the place and his only window didn't have the best of views. These were not ideal times for Dan and he started delving a bit deeper into drugs. He had graduated from the gateway drugs and was starting to do things that were a bit harder.

He gained more connections through playing gigs for different bands. They definitely recognized his talent and charisma and he was welcomed to most all performances. This also meant that he met some shady characters. As he continued to do more drugs, his sound was starting to become more menacing than anything he originally expected. Instead of creativity, his music became about confusion and uncontrollable rage. It wasn't something that he was realizing, but something that the people around him really started noticing. It was still brilliant, but it was evil. It wasn't what Dan was.

During one summer, a couple of years after their high school graduation, at points where Dan felt his life couldn't get any worse, his old time high school buddy, Matt, came back to town to check out how things had turned out. Dan was completely unaware of his friend's visit and only happened to realize it after he saw him out of the corner of his eye in the audience during one of his random gigs. After the performance, the two of them got together to grab a few beers at a local bar. It was at this point that Matt had showed some concern over what he saw in Dan. At first, Dan vehemently denied his friend's allegations, but eventually he became aware that Matt's words were true and this brought about the end of his first stint with drugs. It wasn't at all easy, but it had to be done and it was there that Dan finally figured out that he wasn't all alone. It was also at this time that Matt revealed to Dan his plan to go abroad and offered to Dan, that if he ever wanted to come wherever Matt may settle, he would be welcome.

A few more years passed. Dan was clean again and his creativity was back to its old shining self. He became a sought after guitarist by many different bands in his little town. It was a good sign for the young man, but to him, he felt he had reached a dead-end. Relations with his father had not gotten any better over those years. He hadn't spoken to the man since his high school graduation and it appeared their relations would be severed forever. Dan hadn't seen his siblings or mother in years either. Since Matt had kept in touch, Dan was aware that his friend had settled down in Japan and with all of those factors lining up, he knew he had to take the opportunity to leave everything behind and start anew. This was his opportunity to get out of the United States.

* * *

"Sure must be nice to sleep so peacefully while the people around you are gathering up to do whatever it is that you have planned." Matt told Dan quietly, as the other one started opening his eyes. It hadn't been long since they had made the decision of gathering up a band to perform at the "Battle of the Bands" event that was being sponsored by Saikou Records. Dan had asked his friend to see if he could convince the drummer that Matt knew, to perform with them and Matt kept to his word, by calling up Kikuchi Takamura, a man he'd made friends with a few years prior. It didn't take much convincing on Matt's part, as Kikuchi was in fact looking to start performing again. And so, the band was assembled, but due to Dan's jet lag, it seemed that he was still getting adjusted to the time difference between Tokyo and US.

"Dan, this is Kikuchi Takamura. He's the drummer I was telling you about before. So enough with the sleeping and let's talk about what exactly we're planning to do."

"Hello, I'm Kikuchi Takamura, good to meet you, Dan san." Kikuchi politely said, in a not-so-fluid English. "I hope we can have a good partnership here."

"Umm.. yeah, nice to meet you Kikuchi. As long as you can keep up on drums, I think we won't fail." Dan replied.

"Dan... that was a little rude, man!" Matt chimed in. "Also, we need to discuss how we're going to play the band... I haven't actually played an instrument in a while and while I can carry a bit of a bass line right now, I can't exactly play guitar so much anymore. So while we know for sure that Takamura san will be a drummer, how are we going to do the rest of the arrangements?"

Dan hadn't really thought on the matter so much, but as he told them the plan that he was coming up with for their performance, he could see that Matt was feeling a bit uncomfortable with certain

aspects of it. "Well, if you feel that way then you can do the bass line and I'll just do the guitar, but do you want to sing or should I?" Dan inquired.

"If you're really planning what you're saying, I can't see how we're going to get out of there unscathed... So I'm _definitely_ not doing the vocals, that's all you." Matt replied apprehensively. "Besides, I haven't actually sung in over four years, while you've still been doing the whole band thing by yourself."

"Alright then, it's decided. Everything sounds okay to you then, Kiku, Matt?"

"Kiku?" Kikuchi seemed a bit perplexed by the new nickname that Dan had bestowed upon him.

(Just bare with him, Takamura san, Dan doesn't have any manners to speak of.) Matt reassured their new drummer. Dan scratched his head as he didn't understand what Matt had spoken.

"Alright, that settles that matter, now for the other matter. What are we gonna call our band?"

Dan chuckled to himself a bit, "I've been thinking, since we're going with this theme for our performance anyway, why don't we make our name true to the theme as well."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Kikuchi, who was becoming less reserved around Dan now.

"I was thinking of the name, Pretty Vacant." Dan declared. Matt rolled his eyes a bit, since he kind of knew what Dan was alluding to.

"I'm not sure I understand, Dan san." Kikuchi replied.

"First off, drop the san stuff, I'm not used to it and since we're band mates, we're practically like brothers, so no need for the honorifics. I don't know if you've ever listened to the Pistols or not, but you will before we start working on our routine." Dan answered. "Speaking of which, Matt, did you find out if there were any specific rules or limitations to our routine?"

"Yeah, I looked into it a bit and seems that each band is performing two songs and based on that the winner will be decided. They also say that props and other things are allowed, so I suppose they won't be a hindrance to your plan. And before you ask the next question, yeah, I already sent in our registration."

"Excellent.. then all that's left for us to do is start practicing and getting ready for the event. Honestly, I don't really care if we win the competition. My main goal here is to get our names out there and after this performance, I bet we'll be the talk of the town." Dan stated, a bit exaggerated and Matt rolled his eyes again while Kikuchi laughed out loud.

They were now ready and going to go for it all, though they didn't know what lay in wait for them. So without much opposition, Pretty Vacant was officially formed.


End file.
